Topped by the highest dome in Rome (designed by Maderno) after St. Peter's, this huge and imposing 17th-century church is remarkably balanced in design. Note the early-17th-century frescoes in the choir vault by Domenichino and those by Lanfranco in the dome, one of the earliest ceilings in full Baroque style. Richly marbled and decorated chapels flank the nave, and in such a space, Puccini set the first act of Tosca. Puccini lovers have been known to hire a horse-drawn carriage at night for an evocative journey that traces the course of the opera: from Sant'Andrea up Via Giulia to Palazzo Farnese -- Scarpia's headquarters -- to the locale of the opera's climax, Castel Sant'Angelo.
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